Former White House staff secretary Rob Porter (l.) is accused of abusing his two ex-wives. (JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS)

The House Oversight Committee is investigating how the White House handled accused domestic abuser Rob Porter's employment, chairman Trey Gowdy said on Wednesday.

"We are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don't have," the South Carolina Republican told CNN.

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Asked if the probe was official, Gowdy said all that matters is what the inquiries uncover.

"What matters to me is that we are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don't have," he said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified on Tuesday that the bureau handed information about Porter's background to the White House earlier than Trump administration officials have admitted.

Wray told the Senate intelligence committee that a preliminary report was passed on in March and a full background check completed by July. The FBI responded to requests for more in formation in November and closed its file in January.

That contradicts the administration's earlier claim that Porter's resignation came last week as his security clearance process was ongoing and being handled by law enforcement.

The White House has repeatedly said no one in the West Wing was aware of the seriousness of the allegations against Porter until photos of one of his ex-wives sporting a black eye emerged last week.

Porter, who denies he abused either of his ex-wives or his former girlfriend and enjoyed kind words from both President Trump and White House chief of staff John Kelly, resigned as the scandal grew.

"I'm troubled by almost every aspect of this," Gowdy told CNN. "How in the hell was he still employed?"

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday a White House office manned with career bureaucrats had yet to sign off on Porter's security clearance.

He was working with interim clearance.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has been petitioning Gowdy to open a probe into the security clearance issues at the White House, including why a number of aides are working under interim clearances more than a year into the administration.

Jennifer Willoughby, the ex-wife of Porter. (CNN)

Last month, Cummings and other House Democrats wrote to the White House, asking Kelly for information related to the staff's interim security clearance process and expressing concern about the President's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

In a letter last week to Gowdy, Cummings accused the retiring lawmaker of refusing requests to obtain documents regarding the security clearances of Kushner, disgraced national security adviser Michael Flynn and his son.

Vice President Pence echoed other administration officials on Wednesday, admitting that the matter could have been dealt with better.

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"This administration has no tolerance for domestic violence, nor should any American," he said during a sitdown with Axios.

"As I said, and as the White House has said, I think the White House could have handled this better. I still feel that way."